The Backcountry
by silversundown
Summary: Survival horror, backwoods style: A weekend vacation to a tiny lakeside cabin turns out to be more than Carol bargained for. When Ed feels especially bad about a fight he takes her there to make up for it, but this time they aren't the only ones roaming the woods. Faced with the real possibility of not surviving the trip Carol will have to make more than a few hard choices.
1. Chapter 1

**This thing that has been kicking around my hard drive for a while and I've decided to give it a dust off and a polish. It's a bit of a backwoods horror story wrapped up in a romance.**

 **There's some Ed in here, so be warned, but trust that I hate him as much as you guys do so don't get too worried.**

* * *

Carol leaned her forehead against the car window, watching the trees pass by and letting the yellow lines on the road blur as the car made it's way through the woods.

They were heading for the cabin and she was more than a little excited about this particular trip. It was a rare occurrence. The product of bad fights between her and Ed that left her more than black and blue and him with a guilty conscience. He'd wake her up the next morning with a kiss on the cheek, coffee waiting on the table and an announcement that they deserved some quiet time away.

That she deserved to have a nice weekend and he wanted to make her happy. To make it up to her.

They'd visited this place four times in the last two years. Once after he dislocated her shoulder with a hard slam into the bedroom door. Once after she took an assisted tumble down a flight of stairs. Once when two fingers needed a cast for six weeks. And now today, the fourth time.

She'd committed the awful offense of not answering her phone before the sixth ring while she'd been at the store, setting him into a rage once she returned. Calling her a cheating whore and questioning what else she could have possibly been doing that took her six rings if she wasn't otherwise occupied blowing some other guy. Then he'd attempted to carve his own name into her lower back with a drunken hand and a pocket knife.

She struggled more than usual that time. It was one thing to take a smack upside the head or a right hook and another thing entirely to lie still while someone took a sharp object to you. The will to survive was strong, even after all this time and she'd fought back like she hadn't done since the very first day he hit her. When she hit him back and ended up with two black eyes and a broken rib for her efforts.

She never did that again. Until a week prior when he broke out that knife and straddled her and she couldn't control her reactions. Flailed wildly enough to make him forget his plans entirely and rain blows on her instead until she was slack against the floor.

A few multicolored bruises that still littered her arms and legs and a half formed capital E were her last reminders of that night. Nearly a week later she was healed over enough that she didn't have to bandage it any longer and it only hurt when she bent over so he declared her fit enough to go on a trip. Told her to pack her things and get ready for a weekend of relaxation and that's exactly what she'd done.

Normally, Carol would dread a trip. It was just another location for him to fly off the handle about something and in most cases secluded places were the last thing she wanted to visit, but not this time. The cabin was the one place she looked forward too, even with Ed. He would say this was an attempt at redemption, to show her he was sorry, but she knew better. The fishing was good here and he spent almost the entire time on the lake. Telling her to do whatever she wanted with her free time and that she'd earned it.

'Whatever she wanted' was always a chance to walk the trails. Densely covered in woods that merged with a national forest the trails were quiet, peaceful and it was a welcome reprieve from her daily life.

So when Ed wrapped a hand around hers as they flew down the road that twisted and turned, leading them further and further into the back country of Georgia she only squeezed it back. This would be a good weekend.

* * *

The gas station in the one stop light town was small and dusty and only good for three things. Gas, the bathroom and coffee.

"Grab two coffee's while I get the gas, babe." Ed handed her the money, exact change for two medium coffees and she nodded to him before moving to leave the car. Felt his hand tugging at her wrist to stop her. "Remember to make it warm, not hot. Last time it burned like hell. Warm."

He said it with a smile and a sweet tone but she knew this was non negotiable. The coffee needed to come back warm and if she had the ability to take a thermometer with her and make it a perfect 88 degrees she would have done so.

"Of course. Warm. Got it." She smiled and headed off into the store. The coffee section was at the back and she made a beeline for two cups. Filled them three fourths of the way and added the required amounts of creamer and sugars. Two of each for her and four of each for Ed. If he decided it was too sweet or too creamy she could switch them. Finished by putting a couple ice cubes in both to lower the temperature.

Carol popped the lids on the cups with a quick snap and turned around to head for the register, running smack into the chest of another person, spilling both coffees all over the front of his shirt and down his pants.

"What the…" The voice that came from her current victim was shocked with more than a hint of annoyance and she shrank back, sucked in a hard breathe and began spewing as many apologies as she possibly could in his direction.

He had amazing arms. That was the first thing she noticed and she immediately pushed that thought away and scolded herself. This wasn't the time to be ogling anyone. She had more important things to worry about right now.

"It's all right. Not like I don't got other shirts. Damn good thing that coffee wasn't hot as shit like it always is though." He grabbed a few napkins and started dabbing up the coffee from his arms and fixed her with an annoyed glare that lacked any real anger.

She knew the difference by now. Had become an expert at deciphering body language and facial expressions.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking." She trailed off, not sure what else to say or do and suddenly realized she didn't have money for two more coffees. The cashier had seen the entire incident go down and if her luck held true then the plump and surly looking woman behind the counter would require she pay for the spilled ones too.

Panic suddenly overwhelmed her. They hadn't even gotten to the cabin yet and she was already well on her way to pissing Ed off enough that he might just turn around again, or worse.

This new stranger seemed to notice the change in her demeanor and his expression softened just a bit. "Hey, I said it's fine. Ain't no big thing."

She shook her head in his direction. He had no idea how much of a big thing it actually was. "It's not that, I just…nothing. It'll be ok. It's fine." And with that she finished mopping up the counter with paper napkins and set about fixing two more coffees, hoping that she might be able to slide through without getting charged double.

"You sure you're all right? You look worse off than me and I'm the one covered in lukewarm coffee."

He seemed sincere when he asked and she tried to quiet the shaking in her hands as she reached for the fresh cups. "I'm fine. Thank you. And I'm sorry again about your shirt."

He only nodded and watched her approach the counter. The cashier rung her up with a snide glare and the total on the screen read double the charge. Just as she had suspected it would. Her heart sank. She would have to go back and ask Ed for more money. The cashier, Vilma if Carol was going off the worn name tag only stood there and waited, tapping her fingers against the counter and raising an eyebrow.

Carol didn't move. Her feet rooted to the spot she was in, indecision overtaking her. It wasn't like she had any other options anyway. She couldn't just run out the back door after all. Heavy footsteps stopped behind her and a gruff voice floated up to an unimpressed Vilma.

"I got it. Ring hers up with mine." He deposited several packages of beef jerky and a bottled water on the counter and asked for twenty on pump seven.

"Oh, you don't need to do that. Really."

"Already done." And it was because no sooner had she protested did the cashier ring everything up and take his money while staring him up and down with a worse version of the look she gave Carol.

"You sure that's all you got, boy?"

He huffed at her and rolled his eyes. "You wanna check my damn pockets? Don't we do this every time I come in here?"

Vilma hummed out a disapproving sound and tossed his change on the counter instead of handing it to directly to him.

"You have a good day, Vilma. Always a pleasure."

His voice was saccharin sweet and Carol wondered why this exchange was a regular occurrence between them. He seemed nice enough far as she could tell. Looked like he belonged in the backwoods permanently if you were going off his clothes and accent, but he had kind eyes despite the disgruntlement and clearly she wasn't that off base since he'd just bought her coffee.

"Thank you for that."

The corner of his mouth twitched up just slightly in return as he nodded and exited the building.

Twenty seconds later she delivered the coffee to Ed with him totally unaware of what had occurred inside and the stress she felt only moments before slowly ebbed away as he commented on the perfect temperature and started talking about all the fishing he was going to do this weekend.

She had dodged this bullet and things were looking up now. Maybe, just maybe, this would be a relaxing weekend after all.

* * *

The cabin they pulled up to wasn't their usual accommodations. The property management company had already booked that one prior to their call so they were given one set further back into the woods this time, but closer to the lake.

The tiny cabin was brown and worn with a big front porch and no neighbors for miles. In fact she hadn't even seen another car for the last fifteen minutes they were on the road.

"Oh it's so cute. I love it." Her voice was genuine and Ed smiled back at her.

"I thought you might, sweetheart. It's extra quiet out here. Nothing but birds and deer. You can hike till your heart's content or whatever else you wanna do."

She felt relieved at that. Was glad that he'd suggested what he usually did. That she fill her time however she pleased. These trips were the one occasion where he didn't try to schedule her every waking hour.

Guilt was a strong thing she supposed. This time it worked out in her favor.

They unpacked the car in short order and hauled everything into the cabin. Small but open, the entire space was visible from the door except for the bedroom and bathroom. It was cozy and warm with rustic wooden beams fixed to the ceiling and modern appliances dotting the kitchen.

She set about making sandwiches for lunch with supplies they'd brought with them, which they both downed in relatively short order before Ed announced he was going out to the lake for the remainder of the evening.

It was only half past three. She would have the rest of the day to herself until dusk and the excitement was a palpable thing. As was the relief she felt when he was finally out of sight.

She couldn't wait to get out on the trails. Didn't bother trying to find something else to do, just grabbed a bottled water and a map and started her trek toward a semi familiar trail head.

This particular one took her away from the lake and further into the woods. There was a waterfall at the end, though she often had trouble finding it. One of those tricky things that you could hear but not always see unless you were right on top of it. The entire loop was roughly two miles. Enough to stay out and linger but not too much that she wouldn't be back in time to cook dinner.

The weather was warmer than usual for late September and she shucked her long sleeve top, tying it around her waist and leaving only the tank under it as she made her way down the trail.

Carol barely made it a mile in before a deer stopped her in her tracks. Smack in the middle of her path it stood there munching on grass or leaves or whatever it was that deer ate and she simply stared. Must have shifted her weight, because sticks crunched beneath her feet and the deer wasted no time in bolting.

A muttered curse wafted up from her right and her heart suddenly started beating in over drive.

"Dammit. Ya scared it."

Carol had never seen other people out here before. Granted she'd been in different parts of the woods then, but still. She hadn't expected to see another living soul during her stay, let alone on the first night. When the familiar face of her gas station rescuer came into full view she relaxed just slightly.

"Oh, it's you." His tone seemed confused and she felt her wariness ease away. If he was there to murder her he probably wouldn't have seemed surprised at her appearance.

She chanced him a smile and kept her voice light when she responded. "You stalking me?"

He didn't seem to find the joke funny or didn't bother to get it because he only scowled. "No. Huntin' and you're out here scarin' off all my game."

The hard look on the face of a man carrying a loaded bow should have scared her more than it actually did but she only found herself noting that this one didn't like to be teased, and filed it away for future reference. Then wondered why she was even thinking about any further situations involving him.

He wasn't exactly coming home with her. She'd probably never see him again.

"Sorry. Didn't expect to see anyone out here. Are you on vacation?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Live just up the way. Bout three miles." He pointed in the direction of his home, his eyes suddenly seeming to realize that she was wearing far fewer clothes than before and they were free to roam over her bare arms, which is exactly what they did and a wince passed over his face.

They locked eyes for a moment and in that instant she knew that he knew. Could see the realization become evident as he took in the purple and yellow bruises along her forearms and wrists.

"It's nothing." She said dismissively and he scowled even harder. A feat she hadn't thought possible.

"Don't look like nothin'. Looks like a whole lotta somethin'."

She suddenly felt completely exposed and self conscious and wanted to be anywhere but here, with someone else seeing the evidence of what her life had become and so she backed away a few steps, turned to leave before she could give him any more ammunition to judge.

If that was even what he was doing. She couldn't be sure anymore. Everyone judged, didn't they? It was human nature after all.

"I should go. I'm scaring away your game anyway. Good luck with the rest of your hunt." She threw the words over her shoulder, not bothering to fully turn.

"Hey! What's your name?"

She was a good ten feet away by now but stopped and responded anyway. Wasn't even sure why she bothered but something about the concern in his voice seemed less judgmental than she'd first assumed and she gave him her name before she could stop herself.

He nodded to her and replied with his own. His voice somewhat shy when he spoke. "Daryl Dixon."

They both stood there for a moment longer than required, sizing each other up and apparently coming to similar conclusions because he returned the hesitant smile she gave him before turning on her heels and heading back to the cabin.


	2. Chapter 2

The following day Ed was out on the lake by noon and Carol busied herself with readying ingredients for dinner later that evening. She was making a crockpot chicken and dumplings, easy enough to put together since everything got thrown in at once and set to high for six hours.

The food would be ready once she got back from the hike she planned on taking later.

If she was being smart she would leave the cabin now and get an early start. She had run into Daryl during late afternoon and if he kept any sort of steady schedule he'd probably be hunting at the same time today.

If she was being rational and practical should would go now and lower the risk of crossing paths by beating him to the trail. Practicality wasn't on the menu today though because against her better judgement she lingered for nearly three hours before finally leaving for a hike.

She probably wouldn't see him anyway, she reasoned. Had no idea why she even wanted to, they didn't exactly strike up an instant friendship and she had no business trying to talk to other men. Knew that lesson all too well already.

Maybe he didn't go out every day. Maybe he took different trails each time. Maybe he would purposely avoid the same one just to purposely avoid her.

All solid possibilities that flew right out the window when she spotted him on a rock about a mile past the spot she found him at the other day.

He was tearing off pieces of beef jerky, dark hair falling in his eyes, crossbow leaning up against the boulder he was perched on. She felt her pulse quicken at the sight of him. Had no idea what any of that was about and certainly didn't feel like analyzing it at the moment. Only allowed herself a small amount of acceptance that for unknown reasons she was glad he was there.

Daryl's head lifted in her direction at the sound of her footsteps and he narrowed his eyes at her. "You stalkin' me?"

She huffed out a single laugh at her own words being thrown back at her and shook her head. "No. Though I probably look pretty suspicious right now, huh?"

"Oh yeah. Real criminal." His voice was deadpan but light and he hopped off the rock as she approached him. "You hike out here everyday?"

She nodded the affirmative. "Only for the weekend though so I won't be scaring off your deer much longer."

Carol left out the important detail of choosing this particular trail specifically because she thought he might be there too. Though it somehow felt implied even though neither one of them had said it.

"Deer are spooky as shit. I've scared 'em off to. Ain't no shortage of 'em though."

She suspected he was just being nice, that he didn't actually scare off his own deer and it eased whatever worries she had about getting a cold reception. In fact, if she tilted her head and squinted just right she could have sworn he seemed just as glad to see her as she was to see him. Complete with the same trace amounts of confusion about why.

A strong breeze ruffled the tufts of hair that fell in front of his face and she only barely resisted the need to move it out of the way. Truth be told the desire to take a pair of scissors to it was also a frontrunner.

"You headed to that fancy waterfall?"

She shook her head. "Not today. Just wandering around a bit."

He seemed to consider this a moment longer than necessary before replying. "You ever hunt before?"

Her eyes widened. "No. Never. Well, my father took me once when I was a teenager but I never caught anything and I was a terrible shot."

"Wanna get better? I got a quiver full of arrows we can sink into a tree if you want."

She paused at the offer, her mouth half open, completely unsure of how to respond. She could tell it was an effort for him to even extend the invitation. He chewed nervously at his bottom lip and shifted his weight and she wanted more than anything to alleviate that worry and accept.

His apprehensive ticks and general demeanor after voicing the offer also went a long way toward convincing her that spending time with this relative stranger wouldn't lead to her untimely death. Something she probably should have been more concerned about than she actually was.

This was beside the point though because if by some stroke of bad luck Ed wandered out and found her with another man the end result wouldn't be pretty. If Daryl didn't turn out to be a serial killer then Ed would pick up that slack. Her mind raced through how many lures he had taken with him that morning. How much bait was packed and what he ate for breakfast. Trying to judge how long she had left before the possibility of Ed going home was a real thing.

She took a little too long in finding her answer because Daryl interrupted her thought process with a dismissive tone. "Don't have to, I'm sure you got things to be doing either way."

He was moving to pack up what little items he brought with him and she spoke before she could think. "No! I want too." Tried to calm her nerves and her voice before continuing. "If you're sure it's not a bother."

"If it was I wouldn't have offered. Come on, I know a spot."

And with that they were headed deeper into the woods with Carol hot on his heels.

* * *

"It's heavier than I thought it would be."

Carol shifted the bow on her shoulder the way he showed her and tried to focus on the target. An old oak tree with a wide barrel. Big enough to give her a slight advantage when aiming at it.

His hand gently brushed over her shoulder, pressing just slightly. "Little lower. There ya go. Now get a good fix on it and let her fly when you're ready."

It was better that way after all and she squinted her eyes, found what she thought was an accurate aim before pulling the trigger and sending the arrow directly into the tree trunk.

Her face lit up in surprised amazement. "Oh my god! Did you see that?"

"Yeah I saw it. Thought you said you couldn't shoot. If this were a pool hall I'd think you was trying to hustle me."

He was half grinning at her and she laughed. "I swear, this is news to me too!"

"Alright let's see if it was a fluke or if you got some natural talent."

He grabbed the bow from her, putting the brace on his foot and pulling the band up to reset it. She noted the effort it took to do so and wondered if she'd even be able to load it on her own. He struggled with the task for a few short seconds before snapping it into place.

"That shit's no joke. These new ones are worse till ya use 'em some. Don't go trying to load it yourself yet, it'll snap back on your fingers."

She nodded her agreement and took it from him, lining up her shot and dropping her shoulder as she was instructed before. This time the arrow landed a few inches off center, barely staying in the tree at all but sticking there none the less and he let out an approving whistle.

They spent the next hour shooting arrows into a tree trunk and Carol couldn't remember the last time she'd felt more relaxed or had a better time.

* * *

When she returned to the cabin later that night Carol was greeted by the sight of a crockpot full of uncooked chicken. The appliance was off entirely and she stood there staring at it for a solid ten seconds, wondering how it happened.

She had plenty of flaws but being absent minded wasn't one of them. Was one hundred percent certain that she set it for high before she left and couldn't rationalize how it got turned off while she was away.

Ed was still out, the doors were locked when she got back, everything appeared to be in it's proper place just as she'd left it. Except for the crockpot that held a dinner she couldn't serve.

She was equally as confused about this turn of events as she was terrified of Ed coming back before she could figure out a different food option. Not having dinner ready was unacceptable. Even on vacation. She knew it and he knew it and regardless of his guilt levels she would end up paying the price.

As if on que the sliding front door opened and he walked in. Spotted the look on her face before she could school her features and his passive expression turned curious.

"What's wrong?"

She hesitated but caught herself and started explaining. "I ah…forgot to turn the crockpot on. Dinner isn't ready."

He scowled. "Jesus, Carol. You got one fucking thing to do and you fuck it up."

"I can make something else. It won't take long."

"No. I caught a bunch of fish today, they're out there on the porch in a bucket. Go scale those things and I'll fry 'em up. And don't take all goddamn day either."

She nodded and grabbed a scaling knife from the counter, a newspaper to spread the fish on and headed out to the porch. She'd gotten off easy this time. He was always in a better mood if he caught something. The idea of scaling fish wasn't nearly as disgusting as it otherwise would be considering her options so she'd happily take this task. Was grateful for the fact that Ed was possessive over these damn fish and never wanted her to cook them herself. It was one less thing to worry about.

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch and they settled into the sofa to watch tv for the night. Some sort of game show flitted across the screen with players doing charades for each other or drawing on a white board when suddenly the screen went black.

The lights followed suit, making the entire cabin as dark as it was outside.

"Son of a bitch. Get a flashlight."

She headed for the kitchen where they stored the new ones they'd brought along and came up empty. "They aren't here."

"The hell do you mean they aren't there? Where the fuck did you put them?"

Ed's voice was irritated and she held her breath. "I didn't move them, they were in the drawer but now they just…aren't."

"I swear to god, Carol. If I go out to that car and find those new flashlights still in the trunk you're getting one of them upside the head."

He ushered her out to the front yard, dragging her to the trunk of the car by her arm and popped the lock with a soft click of the key fob. It was empty.

She felt vindicated for a moment. Like she wanted to point and tell him I told you so, but of course she didn't. Only followed him around to the back of the house to check the breakers. The woods just beyond them were alive with sounds of sticks breaking and leaves rustling and a chill ran up her spine, making itself a semi permanent resident there.

Rationally she knew she was being ridiculous. It was probably squirrels, or raccoons, or whatever else wandered around at night but as they rounded the corner and Ed muttered a string of curses she was glad he hadn't sent her back here alone.

"What the fuck."

She followed his line of sight when he spoke and her eyes just barely spotted the outline of a severed power cord hanging from the box.

"Did you do this?" His voice was enraged and she only stared at him in shock for a brief moment. The confusion at seeing the cord cut replaced by fear at the implication in his words.

It was entirely irrational to think she could have or would have cut the power. "I was with you."

"That don't mean shit. You're a conniving little bitch and I bet you had something to do with this."

Ed backed her up against the wall of the cabin, his hand hovering in front of her throat and her mind scrambled for something to say. Some way to defuse the situation. To plead her case. To make him see that what he was implying was more than a little impossible.

Just as his fingers closed around her pulse the sharp end of an arrow shot through his forehead and stopped only inches from her own face. The warm spray of blood coated her chest and neck and he slumped against her before sliding to the ground with a soft thud. She heaved out a panicked sound, unsure of what to do and questioning what she'd just seen with her own eyes. Freezing in place for several long moments before finally stumbling away from Ed and around to the front of the cabin.

The door was locked.

They'd left it open when they went out to the car but as she yanked on the handle it was most surely locked and not opening any time soon.

When she looked up again she was greeted by the sight of another person staring back at her from inside the house.

She couldn't see the face that was covered with a dark mask, but his eyes followed hers. Watching with a sort of stillness and detachment that was beyond terrifying.

Separated only by a thin pane of glass they stared at one another for a moment longer before Carol bolted from the porch and toward the woods. The leaves crunched beneath her feet and she had a very real fear of running head first into a tree she couldn't see until it was too late, but she didn't slow down and she didn't look back, only ran until her lungs ached and the firm grip of a strong hand curled around her arm and forced her to a stop.

Warm breath tickled her ear and a hand covered her mouth to muffle any scream she may have let out.

"Shhhh. Don't move."


	3. Chapter 3

Carol froze. The instinct to struggle was tempered by the need to do whatever it took to survive and when someone hauls you out of a dead run and tells you not to move….well, she wasn't about to even twitch.

Time stretched on for several long moments, neither one breathing louder than necessary until the grip on her loosened and the voice spoke again. "All right, think it's just a squirrel this time."

She took the opportunity that his slack hold offered and sprung back a step, turning to face him in a panic and saw his hands go up in a placating gesture. "Easy, it's just me."

"Daryl?" The face looking back at hers was indeed that of one Daryl Dixon and she let out a heavy breath at the revelation. "You should have lead with that. I thought you were trying to kill me."

"Sorry, heard somethin' out there, didn't wanna draw attention." He paused a moment, seeming to realize she was very out of place in her current location. "The hell are you doing out here anyway? You're over half a mile away from your cabin."

The question prompted her to relive the reason she was running through the woods at top speed in the first place and her face crumbled, pulse quickened and eyes went wide. For a split second she had been distracted enough to forget what had occurred. But now, the image of Ed's face only inches from her own as it dripped blood and the life slowly drained away leapt to the forefront of her mind. As did the sight of the masked man in the cabin.

She spoke around her own hand that had covered her mouth, her voice detached. "There was someone there. They killed Ed…I don't know why, it doesn't make any sense. I ran. I just ran and I didn't stop and then you were here."

It was a strange thing to feel both sadness and relief at the loss of another person that society said you should only be weeping for, but that was exactly how she felt. A tinge of justice crept into the mix and then guilt quickly took over for even entertaining such an excessive thought. Didn't have a clue what to do with any of these emotions swirling in her brain and the terror at her current situation only heightened them.

When Daryl replied to her explanation she was grateful for the chance to focus on something else entirely.

"Shit. Come on, I got a car just up ahead."

He gently took her arm, urging her quickly forward and toward wherever he had parked, letting his hand drop when she took the direction. She noted his lack of surprise at what she'd said and came to a full stop a few feet from the waiting Ford. She had trusted him before, maybe against her better judgement but he seemed kind and harmless and she let all her reservations quickly fall away. But now, with him seemingly unsurprised by the idea of someone attacking them she was on guard and non too eager to get into a car with him.

Her lack of motion halted him too and he stared at her in confusion. "Come on, we can't stay out here."

"Why aren't you surprised about what I just told you?"

"I'll explain when we get on the damn road, we can't be yakking out here. It's not safe."

He was agitated now and her fears only grew worse. "I'm not getting in that car with you until you explain. You gotta give me something here."

He ran a hand over his face in frustration and sighed, shoving his bow in the backseat and turning to regard her. "I was on my way home and saw somethin' creeping around the Robertson's place." He gestured past where they were standing, up a winding gravel drive that she only just realized he was parked on. "Came by to check it out. They're old, don't get around much. They wouldn't be out at night just wanderin'. House is locked up, ain't no one answering the door but the lights are on. Saw someone runnin' off when I got around back and went after 'em. Lost track soon after."

He stopped and gestured to her. "Then you come flyin' past me and here we are."

Carol took this information in, pondered it a second. It made sense, she supposed. If he wanted to kill her he could have done so already, it wasn't like he didn't have ample chance while he was holding her hostage only moments prior, and every time they'd interacted on the trails since then. She was alone with him for over an hour the other day and he let her leave when they finished shooting arrows into trees without so much as a protest.

She shook her head, clearing those thoughts away and felt regret creep up at having doubted him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have implied you were with…whoever was back there."

He snorted. "It's fine, but can we get the hell in the damn car now so we ain't sitting ducks?"

She nodded and quickly slid into the passenger seat. Moments later they were reversing down the drive and then back out onto the empty road.

"Where are we going?"

"My place. Not enough gas to make it past the gas station and they'll be closed. We can call the police from my land line." He looked at her and concern passed over his features. "Are you ok? That's a lotta blood. You hurt?"

She glanced down at herself, the glow from the car panel illuminating the blood splatter across her neck and chest and started frantically trying to wipe it away. "It's not mine."

He reached across her, popping open the glovebox and tossing a few paper napkins in her lap which she gratefully accepted and began wiping the evidence of her dead husband off her own skin. "You don't have a cell?"

He looked at her like she had spoken the most ridiculous words in the english language. "Yeah. But you ever get service up here?"

He had a point. She was lucky to get half a bar when she was perched on top of the highest point in the trail. Never got anything at all at the cabin or in the woods. "Right…right. Sorry."

"Stop apologizin' "

His voice was soft when he said it but she winced anyway. It was an awful habit, bred from years of treading softly amongst a monster that could wake at any moment. Old habits died hard and this one was woven into her very being by now. She apologized as quickly as she drew breath and put just as little thought into the action.

It was the first thing she planned on changing.

When they pulled up to Daryl's home, a modest cabin even deeper into the woods than her trail walks had taken her before, she was only too ready to get inside. Feeling exposed and vulnerable in the cool night air she nearly beat him to the door. It was dark when they entered and she felt a chill run up her spine. Looked around herself for a phone and come up empty. Saw him leaning the crossbow against the entry hall behind her and peel off in the other direction.

"It's in the kitchen on the counter. Call 911." He threw the words over his shoulder as he parted from her.

"Where are you going?"

"To stock up on bolts, can't be too careful."

She only nodded into the darkness and set about locating the phone, which wasn't hard to find at all considering it was right where he said it would be, resting on the counter in it's cradle and she eagerly lifted the receiver and dialed. The silence on the other end stilled her movements when she brought it up to her ear.

No dial tone. No ringing. No nothing.

Carol waved a hand over the light switch next to her, hoping it would illuminate the space but being denied any light.

"Daryl! Power is out and the phone's dead."

She called after him as she exited the kitchen and he rounded the corner at the same time, nearly ran smack into her but corrected himself at the last minute. "Yeah I know, just checked the lights too."

"What the hell is going on?"

He had deposited the bolts into a quiver on the counter and was pulling open random drawers in his kitchen, looking for something, swearing under his breath when each one failed to hold whatever object he was searching for.

"Don't know exactly."

"Exactly?"

He huffed as he continued his search, moving around various items in an over filled drawer. The moment stretched on before he said anything and she was beginning to think he wouldn't when his hesitation finally broke.

"There's this urban legend but it's never actually happened. Says that once every ten years, right around this time, instead of huntin' animals…people come here to hunt other people."

He must of heard her sharp gasp because he stilled his movements and regarded her fully. "But it ain't never been a real thing. I've lived here all my life. It's just a tale people joke about when they've had one too many shots of whiskey at the bar."

"So maybe it's not that? Maybe it's something else?"

He nodded and went back to his task. "Yeah. Could be something else. Probably is because on a scale of totally sane to completely fucking crazy that theory is right at the top."

He seemed to finally find whatever he was having so much trouble locating because he let out a satisfied sound and straightened up again, holding a wicked looking knife in her direction. It had silver knuckles on the handle and a tip sharp enough to pierce anything in it's path.

"Here. Take this just in case. Keep it on you at all times, anyone who isn't me or the cops comes near you don't hesitate to shove it anywhere you can."

She reached out and took the knife, testing it's weight and curling her fingers around the handle. Fitting them perfectly into the waiting grooves.

She didn't respond verbally, just nodded and stared up at him and the expression on her face must have been horrific because he softened instantly, resting a hand on her upper arm. "It's gonna be all right. We're gonna drive to ranger's station about a mile up the way and break the hell in and use their phone. If it's dead then we use the radio."

"Ok. You're right. It's gonna be fine." She tried to make her voice come out more assured than she actually felt, because at this point she wasn't entirely certain that they would even make it to the car. There could be someone outside right now for all she knew, but she trusted Daryl and if he said they would make it then she had to hold onto that. The only other option was to give up completely and she had never been a quitter.

Daryl grabbed his quiver and the crossbow, instructed her to stay close and they exited the house slowly with her barely a full footstep away as they headed for the car.

He stopped abruptly, nearly causing her to run into his back. "Slashed the damn tires."

Carol followed his stare and sure enough the front tires were both flat, the metal rims resting on the ground.

She was about to respond when the soft swoosh of an arrow flew past her head and into the passenger window of the car in front of them, shattering the glass on contact. Felt Daryl yank her roughly between him and car and turn with his crossbow raised, aiming only long enough for a single heartbeat to thump in her chest before pulling the trigger and sending an arrow directly into the forehead of their would be assailant.

"Good thing this dumbass is a terrible shot." He approached the body, ripping the mask off with a rough flick of his wrist.

"He's just a kid." Her voice was filled with horror and confusion. The person on the ground couldn't have been more than eighteen, twenty if she was being generous. Yet there he lay, arrow through the skull after having tried to kill them both.

Daryl didn't respond, his eyes were still locked on the sight before them, expression forming a grimace that morphed into something resembling nausea. She suspected the reality of what he'd just done was hitting him full force.

"Hey, you had too. He was trying to kill us."

"Could have shot him in the leg…" His voice trailed off and she tugged on his arm so he faced her.

"Wasn't time to think about it. If you paused he could have gotten out another shot. You didn't have a choice." He nodded, though she had a feeling he was unconvinced. They couldn't keep discussing it here out in the open though so she got to her feet, pulling him along with her. "We need to get the ranger's station."


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl was silent as he lead them through the woods and in the general direction of the ranger's station. She itched to say something to him. To tell him yet again that he only did what was required for both of them to make it out of this godforsaken night alive but it was too dangerous to have full on conversations and she had a feeling he would only shuck off her comments anyway.

So she kept quiet and trailed close behind him as they wound through trees, keeping off the main path entirely. The woods were becoming less dense and the faint glow of moonlight shone through more easily then before. Casting an eerie glow over everything it touched. Carol wrapped a hand around the knife she'd looped through her belt, fingers fitting snugly into the silver knuckles and it provided a false sense of security where she logically knew there was none. Not anymore.

They hadn't talked at all since leaving his house and her desire to soothe his worries over a kill that was the most legitimate case of self defense she'd ever seen was overshadowed by her need to ask him a hundred questions that he probably had no answer to anyway.

How many do you think there are?  
How many arrows did you bring?  
How much farther is the station?  
If we don't make it will anyone find our bodies or do you think we'll become stew in a cannibal feast?

All perfectly fine questions that would likely earn her a glare or an arched eyebrow and nothing else. Or, in the worst case scenario, alert their trackers to their position. So her mouth stayed close and she focused on the task at hand which was easy enough to accomplish.

Stay close. Don't take heavy steps. Don't run into anything.

They'd been walking for less than a few minutes total so when Daryl slowed his movements she was curious enough to break the silence and ask what was wrong in a low whisper. His hand rose up to silence her, crossbow raised to aim at something she couldn't see.

"There's somethin' up there." His words were so quiet she had to strain to hear them but when she did a shiver coursed across her skin and raised the hair on the back of her neck.

They had come to a complete stop now, close enough that she rested a hand on his back without putting any thought into the action. Wanting to feel he was there as well as see it. She could only faintly make out what he was looking at through the darkness but the reason why he'd come to a halt suddenly made sense.

They'd stayed off the path to the station, but within a few hundred yards of it and the outline of two people pacing back and forth across the narrow trail that lead to their salvation was becoming clearer and clearer. They appeared to be waiting there. For them? For someone else? No no, probably for them, she corrected herself. Of course them. They'd assumed their prey's next move and had been correct and now they simply waited for the rabbits to hop into the snare.

An irrational sense of offense built up in her. She and Daryl weren't rabbits and the thought of someone hunting them down like animals for sport was rage inducing.

She stood stock still behind Daryl, feeling the rise and fall of his breath beneath her hand that was still flat against his back and the rumble of his whisper when he spoke to her. "Can't go that way. Gotta go through the falls."

Carol was pretty certain he'd said something along the lines of 'gotta go through the falls' but surely he didn't because that made no sense whatsoever. They weren't even near the top and the ravine was too far below them to cross. She crushed the urge to question it and followed closely as he shifted direction and they began veering off to the left. Away from the path and the certain death that awaited them there.

Once they were out of earshot he began to explain the newly formed plan."They know the woods. Have too, because they assumed we'd go for the station. We can still get there by going through the falls. It'll take us a little longer but if we follow the river and cross at the top, loop around a bit it'll be fine."

"What if they're waiting at the station too? We don't know how many there are."

"Gonna scope it out first, make sure we ain't got a welcome party."

"Right, right. Makes sense." She nodded into the darkness, aware that he could only barely see her and doing it anyway out of habit. Looked up at him and voiced a question she already knew the answer too.

"This is really happening isn't it?"

She immediately regretting saying it. Braced herself for an arrogant response or a scolding, but his quiet words held nothing of the sort. They were only tinged with his own worry and concern, and she reminded herself that this man wasn't Ed. They weren't all like that. This one especially had already proven he was far from it.

"Yeah, it is. It's some fucked up shit." He trailed off, looked like he might say something else but shook it off and began leading them back through the trees again.

The soft trickle of water was a faint sound in her ears that only got stronger as they got closer. She'd found this waterfall once before. Had sat at the bottom of it and watched it come down in a soothing flow when she needed a place to escape. But now, as they approached the water from the highest point it was anything but soothing.

The river that flowed below them coursed through a small ravine that sat a good fifty feet downward and stretched out for miles. A cliff loomed in front of them, warning them to stay back and they complied. She couldn't even see the falls yet, but if they followed the river it would take them there. She was only too happy that they wouldn't have to climb down the rock face to the bottom and could cross at the top. It wasn't a long drop but it was steep and the thought of falling just far enough to break a few bones but not die wasn't too appealing.

A soft crunch behind them caught both their attention and they spun around in unison, looking into the darkness they'd just walked through and seeing nothing.

Daryl had the bow up and aiming, at what she didn't know, the moonlight had helped but it was still too dark to see into the denser forest away from the cliff's edge. They stood there paused, waiting for something to make a move when another crunch that sounded suspiciously like leaves beneath a footstep echoed around them.

Then another. And another.

Getting louder each time but refusing to show the source of the noise. They'd both taken a few unconscious steps backward, moving them closer and closer to the cliff's edge and she halted them, her hand clutching the side of his shirt until he stopped with her.

The woods had gone silent, no more footsteps and for a moment she wondered if they'd been wrong. If it hadn't been people after all, but an animal instead, but then an arrow flew out from the darkness and directly into Daryl's thigh, the surprise and force of it knocking him over next to her. His head slamming against the rocky ground hard enough to knock him out entirely.

Carol fell to her knees next to him, shock at what had just happened giving way to panic when she saw him unconscious and bleeding profusely from the leg. Her fingers found his pulse and she was more than relieved to find it still beating strongly beneath her fingertips. She knew a leg wound wouldn't have killed him that quickly but smacking his head so roughly on a rock certainly could.

She started shaking violently at his shoulders to try and wake him, her voice urgent but low. "Daryl! Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Shit. Wake up. Fuck. Wake up!"

He was unresponsive and she only shook harder, her motion stopping entirely when the sound of footsteps picked up where they had left off. Getting closer and closer and the sight of two people approaching them at a languid pace swam into her field of vision.

She stopped shaking Daryl and grabbed his crossbow that had fallen to the side, saw that it wasn't set, had probably gone off on it's own when he fell and she braced her foot against the lower portion and wrapped her hands around the band, pulling up to try and set it. Felt it snap back and drag against her fingers and she gasped at the pain. He'd warned her it was difficult to load. She had seen him struggle with it himself and he was stronger than her by a long shot but she wasn't prepared for how hard it actually was.

The people who had appeared from the woods, clad in the same dark outfits and mask as the others continued their slow approach, watching as she struggled with the bow and failed time and time again. She put all her strength into pulling up the stiff band, adrenaline aiding her efforts, and was only rewarded with a firm snap as it refused to stretch far enough.

She had tried a good five times by now, only being allowed that long because their pursuers appeared to enjoy the show but as they got closer, a mere ten feet separating them one stopped while the other continued forward and closed the small gap. She tried to back up and away but he quickly straddled her, wrapping both hands around her throat and squeezing.

Carol struggled wildly beneath him, arms and legs flailing, fingers trying to reach his eyes and coming up short, knees trying to hit him in the groin and being denied any leverage. His hold on her became more insistent and her vision blurred. The memory of something important flooded her mind and she let one of her hands travel down her side and wrap around the silver knuckles of the knife in her belt. Drug it out of his resting place and stabbed it swiftly through the side of her attacker's neck.

He didn't let go of her right away. Surprise at her action forced his hands to squeeze tighter but as the blood flowed out of him in a gruesome arc his grip loosened until he fell over entirely. Landing to her left with a hard thud.

The gasp that left her mouth when she could finally breathe again was loud enough to echo through the woods. She took in large gulps of air, hands clutching at her own throat, trying to regain some sort of composure. Remembered there had been two of them and whipped her head up to prepare for the next attack but only stared into empty space.

He was gone.

Leaving Carol flat on her back and gasping as her lungs struggled to cooperate with Daryl still unconscious to her right and a dead body to her left.


	5. Chapter 5

When she turned her head and looked at Daryl she suddenly remembered that she had more important things to be doing than laying there trying to suck more air into her own lungs. He was still out cold but there wasn't any blood coming from his head. Probably because he was saving all of that for his upper thigh. When Carol sat up and took better stock of his injuries, hands tapping at his cheek, hoping for a response but getting nothing, she figured maybe it was for the best. His leg wound was a mess. She took the fabric of his pants in her hands and tore open the ripped area even more to get a better look.

There was a decent amount of blood that had already gushed from it, coating everything in it's wake from the rest of his leg to the ground below him but the flow was already slowing considerably. Which had to mean he hadn't nicked an artery because if that were the case he'd probably have bled out already.

She stared at the arrow, both ends still protruding from his leg, noting how it went through the outer fleshy part but stayed a decent few inches away from the bone. She couldn't just leave it there…but weren't you supposed to leave weapons in a stab wound to prevent more blood loss? She was pretty sure she'd read something of the sort on google when she was researching for her own more domestic related incidents. Removing it was a big fat no, but she couldn't exactly wrap it up while there was an arrow sticking out and even though the bleeding had started to clot on it's own, he absolutely needed it wrapped.

She sat there, hands on either side of the wound, trying to figure out what to do when he started to stir. That was the kick she needed because she most certainly did not want him fully awake while she was doing anything with that arrow so she wrapped both hands around the end closest to her and bent it off in one swift motion. Not giving herself time to think about what she was doing for fear of chickening out at the last second.

The arrow gave easier than she expected it to, snapping off and causing Daryl to jerk under her hands. He was still hazy, his eyes blinking rapidly, trying to focus and she leaned over into his field of vision and rested a hand on his chest. "It's just me, it's ok. You got shot but you're ok."

His gaze landed on her and he stared right through her for a second before finally focusing on her face, a confused expression gracing his features. "Why are we on the ground?"

"The arrow knocked you over and you hit your head on the rocks. Just give it a second, don't get up yet, you probably scrambled your brain a little."

"You ok?"

She only barely resisted the urge to laugh at that question. Here he was, most likely concussed and bleeding from what could have been a fatal wound and he was asking her if she was ok. She gave him a sad smile and nodded. "I'm fine. But I need to pull the rest of this arrow out and that won't be fun."

He didn't seem to even hear the words that came out of her mouth because his hand was reaching for her neck as she finished her sentence, his fingers lightly tracing the dark red skin there. "Someone choke you? The hell happened?"

His touch was gentle and soft and despite the fact that her neck felt like it was on fire she didn't flinch. Just held his stare and moved slightly so he could get a full look at the body on the other side of her. "You should see the other guy."

It must have been quite the sight because his eyes widened as he looked between her and the other person. "Damn. Remind me never to piss you off."

She laughed at that, his voice breaking through the sound before she could catch herself. "You did real good."

She had no idea what to even say to that. Compliments of any sort were always an awkward thing for her, but a compliment for a situation like this truly left her speechless and reaching for a reply that wouldn't come. Decided to use their current problem to deflect attention away from herself and back to the task at hand, which really did need to be taken care of sooner rather than later. "Meanwhile, this arrow needs to come out, I need to wrap your leg and then we have to get out of here. We're easy targets right now. So…brace yourself ok?"

Daryl seemed to sober at that, nodded to her and laid back against the ground. "Just do it."

And so she did. Wrapped one hand around the front half of the arrow and braced the other hand against his thigh and slowly drug it out of it's resting spot with a wince on her face. It didn't give her any trouble and neither did Daryl. In fact he hadn't said anything at all and gave no reaction whatsoever and she was starting to get even more worried when she realized he was holding his breath.

"Breathe. It's over, I'm gonna wrap it and we're done."

He let out a large swoosh of air and the cursing starting up in earnest, enough to make a sailor blush, though she gave him credit for at least keeping his voice low.

The long sleeved top she wore over her tank made a good enough wrap and she tied it tightly around his thigh. "All done. Lets go."

Walking was an effort at first, as was even getting up off the ground and he leaned his weight against her for a few moments before he was able to take full steps on his own. Stubbornness seemed to have won out over pain because soon enough he was leading her through the woods again, at a slower pace than before and with a pronounced limp, but leading her all the same. "Plan still applies. We need to cross at the top of the falls. It's about…half a mile up."

For once, their efforts went off without a hitch and they made it to the falls and across the shallow water at the top without any problem. Carol could tell that he was getting tired and so was she. She enjoyed a good hike as much as the next person but didn't make a regular habit of walking miles everyday while also trying to fight for her life and it was taking it's toll. She imagined he was better off than her in that regard since he seemed to hunt quite often but his leg was still hitching when he walked and he'd lost a considerable amount of blood from the wound before she tied it off.

He seemed to sense what she was thinking and answered her unasked question. "We got another mile or so before we hit the station."

"Ok. We'll make it."

"Damn right we will."

He seemed so sure, so completely certain that they were going to be just fine and in that moment she was one hundred percent glad that she'd ended up in this situation with him. If she had to be in it with anyone at all. She tried to imagine her and Ed on the run in the woods and the idea was almost laughable. He wouldn't have a clue where he was going and the moment he was in danger she was pretty certain he'd have fed her to the wolves without a second thought.

No. She was lucky to have Daryl with her and eventually she would make sure he knew just how much she appreciated what he'd done. Eventually. Not now though, they still had so far left to go and conversation was frowned upon since she was pretty sure they were still being lightly stalked at the very least.

As if on que the crunching and cracking of leaves and sticks started up behind them to signal that whoever was out there had restarted the hunt. Daryl whirled around, backing up with his bow raised. "Shit. Change of plans, we're gonna run and run fast. Don't look back. Got it?"

His voice was an urgent whisper but she replied with an agreement and watched as he turned on his heels, grabbing her hand with the one that didn't hold his weapon and pulling her through the woods at a dead run.

How he was able to run on that leg she wasn't sure but adrenaline certainly had something to do with it because they were flying between the trees, slightly off course from where they'd been going prior and suddenly the lake came into full view in front of them. Stretching out as far as they could see, the moonlight glinting off the stillness of the water before the darkness swallowed it up entirely.

It would have been beautiful. Peaceful. If they weren't running for their lives.

"Boathouse."

He barked out the word to her in a low tone as he lead them to the small building at the water's edge. Letting go of her hand to try the knob and finding it open. They entered swiftly, closing it behind them and realizing it was open before because the lock had been broken.

"Can we take the boat?"

He shook his head as he fiddled around at the steering wheel of the boat, looking for something. "No keys."

It was a tiny space, filled with various boat related items and other tools and they stood there a moment trying to figure out what they should do next.

"They're gonna come in here. They were close, I could feel it. Was hopin' they'd left the keys in the damn boat. This one belongs to the Miller's and sometimes he forgets. Dammit…"

A shadow passed across the window outside and he grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the water where the boat sat. "Come on, we'll hide under it until they pass." Tossed his crossbow under a tarp on the ground and was halted by her refusal to move.

"Can't we just shoot them?"

"Don't know how many there are."

"I can't swim…"

He stopped, standing directly in front of her and squeezing her hand firmly. "We ain't going swimming. I'll have you the whole time. Won't be under but a minute. They'll see it's empty and leave."

She didn't have time to argue his point because the noises outside got more insistent and before she knew it they had both slid gently into the water and he pulled her to him at the waist, holding on tightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a fierce grip.

They bobbed there, heads barely breaching the surface as they waited for someone to enter the building and he fixed her with a serious look. "Right before we go under…take a deep one."

She nodded just as the door handle started to turn, took as deep a breath as she could and let Daryl pull them both under the surface and directly under the boat.

Her pulse was racing and she could faintly make out the sound of footsteps above them, of people talking, having conversations about something she couldn't quit place. It started out calm and quickly turned into an argument of some sort and she realized they weren't walking back out just yet. Carol had never been good at holding her breath but it had been at least twenty seconds now that she'd been under and the pressure in her lungs was starting to build.

She looked at Daryl with a frantic expression and he shook his head in reply and she only clutched onto him even harder, trying in vein to make her lungs corporate. It had to have been at least forty seconds now, a minute maybe? She wasn't certain but her lungs were on fire and as much as she wanted to take in a breath the knowledge of it being only water kept her from trying and she began to struggle against him, her nails digging into his neck as she tried to free herself from his grip. The only thing that mattered at this point was getting air. She didn't care if a hundred people were waiting at the top, she had to breathe but he only held her tighter and just as she watched the faint outline of feet beginning to walk away at the edge of the water her vision blurred and she lost consciousness entirely.

* * *

When she woke up the first thing saw was Daryl's face hovering only inches from her own. She felt wet. All over. Her lungs burned and she couldn't stop coughing and suddenly the memory of what had happened came back full force and she knew she had nearly drowned.

"Easy, try and breathe slow."

His breath tickled her face and she realized he hadn't moved yet. Saw the concern in his eyes when he spoke again. "You scared the shit outta me."

"I'm ok." Her hand found his bicep and rested there, squeezing just slightly and he seemed to believe her because he sat back on his heels and gave her a little space. That's when she felt her chest start to ache and reflexively clutched at it. "What hit me in the chest?"

"Me."

She sought out his eyes again, looking for further explanation and he responded, looking almost guilty. "You weren't coming to. Did CPR for fucking ever and ya just laid there and then I…sorta thumped you. With my fist. That's when you started coughing up all the water."

Carol just stared back. She hadn't almost drowned, she did drown. Had apparently been dead enough that CPR alone wouldn't bring her back and that thought in itself was way more than she ever wanted to ponder so she just sat up and fixed him with a grateful look that he shied away from automatically.

"Thank you."

She wanted to hug him. To throw her arms around his neck and maybe just settle there for a long while and forget any of this ever happened but reality was a harsh thing and it informed her that they had other things to address at the moment.

"Just glad you're ok. And before ya start thanking me you better hear what else I got to say."

There was hesitancy in his voice that sent a shiver through her but she only nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"I heard some of what they were sayin' while we were down there. There's more than just those two and they're circling around then coming back to the boathouse again. I think we need to take advantage of that."

She squinted at him. "What do you mean?"

"I think instead of runnin', we need to start playing the game. We ain't never gonna out run all of 'em and they're gonna be at the station. I can feel it."

"You wanna hunt the hunters?"

It sounded ridiculous when she said it out loud but he only nodded at her like it made the most perfect sense in the world. "That's exactly what I'm sayin'."


	6. Chapter 6

She gapped at him. He couldn't possibly be serious, but apparently he was because he only started puttering around the boathouse, looking for something. "See what we can use as weapons. There's a bunch of shit in here, gotta be something to we can cobble together. Gonna try and take at least one 'em alive and make him spill some details."

She looked around the space. There were plenty of tools and boards and various other items since it looked like the owners used it as an all purpose space as well as somewhere to store their boat. Her eyes landed on a box of nails and a hammer and she squinted.

"What if…" She trailed off, not trusting her own judgement on ways to trap a human being just yet. This was the first time she'd ever had to ponder such a thing in the first place and she was certain he had better ideas in his little pinky finger than she had swimming around her brain, but he stopped and waited for her to continue so she said the next words in a rush of breath.

"What if we block the door and unlock the window and then put some of those boards on the floor below it with a bunch of nails sticking out and when someone comes through they'll step on them then we can…I don't know, attack them? It would catch the first one by surprise at least."

She barely paused at all until she was finished and was prepared to shrug it off as an awful idea but he only nodded and tossed her a box of nails. "I like it. Lets get these hammered in the boards. We can block the door with that chair." He pointed across the room at a metal folding chair resting against the wall. "They'll know someone's in here no doubt when it won't open, won't have no choice but to come through the window."

He was already hammering in a handful of nails into a board and she started doing the same. Making sure the ends stuck out long enough to pierce through a boot and into a foot. "What if there's two again and the second one doesn't come in?"

"Ain't gonna wait for him to make that choice. You hit the first one on the head with a board after he comes through and I'll shoot the second one with my bow before he even realizes what the fuck happened."

It made sense when he said it like that and she relaxed slightly. There was only a hundred and one things that could go wrong, after all. With their luck a dozen people would show up and they'd have no chance whatsoever but she tried not to think about that. Tried not to consider all the possibly ways they could meet their untimely demise in this tiny boathouse. Only barely succeeded.

Once they'd finished their work on the boards they laid them across the floor under the window, spaced a few inches apart for a better chance at getting stepped on and blocked the door with the folding chair under the handle.

They each took up a spot on either side of the window and slid down to a waiting crouch. Carol holding a two by four and Daryl holding his crossbow. She glanced at him from her own spot and whispered across the darkness.

"This'll work right?"

He nodded. "Has to."

"I'm glad you're here. That sounds wrong…I'm not glad you're here..here, in this situation, but if I had to be in this with anyone…I'm glad it's you." She watched his face as she spoke the words to him in a low tone, trying to keep her voice quiet. Saw him go from confused to embarrassed as he realized what she was saying. His eyes cutting away from her and back up again a dozen different times.

Carol hadn't meant to say any of it, but the very real idea that they may not make it out of this boathouse alive was gnawing at her and she didn't want to pass up her chance if this would be the last one she ever got.

She didn't expect him to say anything back. Was perfectly fine with not getting a response of any sort but he surprised her and his face softened. "Ditto."

She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face and apparently he couldn't help but react to it with one of his own, though his was far more restrained than hers was and before either of them knew what was happening they were smiling at each other from either side of the window, each clutching their respective weapons and getting momentarily distracted from the task at hand.

The jiggling of the doorknob across the room broke the moment and they got a quick reminder that they weren't there to do anything other than try to stay alive, and to do that they had to capture another person.

The doorknob stopped moving and footsteps started rustling around the building. Scuffing, heavy, this person was confident enough in their abilities that they weren't even trying to hide their intentions of heading for the window. Her pulse raced when a shadow passed over the floor in front of them and the window slowly slide up from it's resting spot.

Gripped her board tight enough to white her knuckles and told herself to wait. Wait until he was inside, wait until he stepped on the nails, wait until she had a good shot. It was tempting to lash out the moment his foot came into view but she didn't. Only locked eyes with Daryl and then watched as the foot lowered heavily onto the board below and saw a two nails pop through the toe of his boot.

The intruder stumbled forward, a sharp cry leaving his mouth as he tried to reach for his foot and she took that as her que to slam the board directly into his forehead. It made a hard thunk and the victim fell to the ground in a heap. Daryl popped up in front of the window then, aiming for whoever else might be waiting but didn't fire.

"No one else. Just this one."

Carol let out a relieved sigh and helped him turn over their new prisoner so he was flat on his back. She felt for his pulse and was more than a little glad to feel a small thumping under her fingers. He wasn't any use to them dead and she didn't have much desire to actually kill anyone else.

Daryl quickly duct tapped his hands together, removed his mask and started slapping him lightly across the face. "Wake up, fucker. Rise and shine."

The man on the ground moaned and shifted, his eyes sliding open into slits before he finally seemed to be aware of his surroundings and the fact that he was currently restrained on the floor with two people standing over him. He didn't move to say anything though and Daryl nudged him in the side with the toe of his boot.

"How many of you are there?"

No response.

"How many, asshole?"

Still nothing, but his expression had turned from curious to amused and Daryl kicked him hard in the ribs. "I said, tell me how many of you fuckers are roaming these woods or I'm gonna start shoving nails in your other foot. And if that don't work we'll see how much target practice I can get in before you pass the fuck out."

The man looked unimpressed and just shook his head before finally breaking his silence. "What does it matter? You're both dead already anyway. You just don't know it yet."

"Wrong answer." Daryl grabbed a hammer and a fresh nail and pounded it straight into the man's other foot and he sucked in a hard breath, shuddering but not screaming.

Carol winced. She was all for finding out important information that could help them but she wasn't a fan of torture and after the second nail she could tell that Daryl was starting to become opposed to it too. Their subject didn't seem to see the flash of hesitation or the expression of regret that passed over Daryl's features though because when the third nail was raised over his foot he started talking and didn't stop.

There were four more of them. Two camped out at the station and two more roaming the woods. She felt a rush of pride at the two of them being this successful so far but there was one more thing she wanted to know and as Daryl moved to put duct tape over their prisoner's mouth she stopped him and regarded the man with a curious expression.

"Why? Why us?"

He laughed at her before he responded. A sick sound that curled her stomach and made her want to ram all the remaining nails through every available limb.

"You were home."


	7. Chapter 7

A soft crackle from the general direction of their prisoner's back pocket caught everyone's attention. Carol locked eyes with Daryl who nodded and then she was bending down to retrieve a small walkie off the other man.

"Lucas, what's your status?"

"Come on man, if you found 'em you better not be doing anything till we get there."

"It won't count unless there's video, asshole."

"Where the fuck are you anyway."

The walkie died down after the last transmission and her brows furrowed. Was tempted to demand this Lucas person explain himself further, but Daryl only gestured for her to hand it to him and so she complied.

Watched as he took a deep breath and regarded their captive. "Tell 'em to meet you here. That you found us. You say it just like that and if I think you're speaking in code or trying to give 'em a signal she'll cut your damn balls off." He pointed at the knife hanging from her belt. "You see that? Sharp as fuck and she won't have any problem using it either."

Carol raised an eye brow at Lucas who swallowed hard and nodded his agreement before Daryl pressed down on the button. The words were said just as they'd been instructed and she sighed in relief when it was over. Then remembered they'd just encouraged the rest of their attackers to converge on their exact location and her stomach dropped.

"Daryl, what are we…"

He raised a hand, cutting her off and she understood. They couldn't discuss their plans here, in front of listening ears. She would just have to trust that he knew what he was doing and follow along until they were out of ear shot. And she did trust him. Had only met this man three days ago and yet she trusted him with her life and it didn't feel the tiniest bit strange until she started to over analyze it. Like she was doing right now in the middle of a hostage situation.

Daryl liberated the fallen crossbow that Lucas had dropped as he stumbled through the window and held it out to her. She took it without question and hefted the strap over her shoulder. It was lighter than Daryl's bow and she only hoped the band was easier to reset if she actually had to fire this thing and reload it. With more than one weapon on her person she felt considerably safer, which was probably an illusion. She could barely shoot an arrow into a tree barrel a mile wide, but Daryl didn't seem concerned that she would shoot him in the ass by mistake or something equally dangerous and embarrassing so she tried to relax and find those threads of confidence she had built during her shooting session with him.

She could do this. Had no choice in the matter anyway. Carol watched as Daryl duct taped their prisoner's mouth shut and calmly hit him over the head with his own bow, hard enough to knock him out completely.

"We gotta go. Now. They'll be comin' here and we need to make a wide arc and head for the station. If we're lucky we'll pass each other on the way and no one'll be the wiser."

She nodded and followed as he exited the boathouse and made for the woods. Remembered what he said about wanting to hunt the hunters and was suddenly only too relieved that he didn't actually want to kill four people tonight. Not only were the odds against them, even with weapons and a plan they would be outgunned, but she was pretty sure it stopped being self defense when you actively went looking for your targets.

He must have known that too and adjusted accordingly. As good as he was at survival, and she hadn't ever seen anyone better, he didn't seem like a killer. It was painfully obvious he didn't enjoy any of the violence they had to inflict tonight and she was glad for that because she didn't either. Could only cross her fingers and toes and hope to god that whoever was roaming the woods wasn't coming to the boathouse the same way they were exiting it.

They crept through the woods at a swift pace, uncontested, until she spotted the soft glow of the station up ahead. The power hadn't been cut there and it's light shone out across the space, illuminating the darker areas around them. It practically glowed like a beacon. Just waiting to there as a promise of salvation. Calling them in.

Daryl paused just outside the ring of light and they watched the building for several long moments, not spotting any movement in or around it and he signaled them forward at a dead run for the door. They didn't plow through it though, the temptation was there but he halted, his back against the rough wood with her on his other side and slowly eased it open. Entering first and pointing his bow should there be anyone waiting to welcome them.

There wasn't. The room was empty and she sighed in relief. Closed and locked the door behind them and watched as he made a beeline for the phone.

"Fuck." Tossed down the receiver no sooner than he'd picked it up and she could only assume it was dead. Which made sense. They would cut the phone line but leave the power up. Then when the mice entered the trap they'd be too busy dying to go for the radio in the corner.

Only they weren't dying just yet and there were no cats nearby laying in wait to snatch them up.

He tried the radio next, sending out a distress call and was rewarded with static. Flipped the channels at a rapid pace and got the same result on every single one. Her heart sank. Maybe no one was even out there to hear them call for help.

He must have seen the look on her face because he put the receiver down and came to stand a foot away from her, expression soft but firm. "Hey, don't think like that. Just because we didn't get a response don't mean no one heard it."

She nodded. "Ok. You're right. What do we do now though? They're bound to come back here when they find Lucas."

He smirked at her. "That's why I wanted to come here instead of just hightailin' it through the woods at random. Come on."

He lead her a few feet into the tiny living area of the station. There was a worn old sofa in the middle, an end table and an eclectic collection of chairs. His footsteps where heavier than usual and he even went so far as to stomp the wood boards a few times for good measure. She was about to ask him what he was doing when the floor creaked and moaned under his feet.

He reached down to the floor and his fingers wrapped around an old hardwood plank than had seen better days, a notch cut out of it just big enough to grab and when he did it pulled right up along with several other rows, revealing a small set of stairs to whatever waited below.

"Been forever since I was down here. They're supposed to use it to store extra supplies and they do but back when I was a kid the ranger used to hide his liquor here too. Was a mean drunk but damn did he have good taste in whiskey. Me and my brother and a few other kids would sneak down here at night and pilfer from his stash."

He told the story as they lowered themselves into the small storage area and closed the trap door behind them, his voice low and quiet. It was tiny. Only big enough hold a stack full of crates on one side and the stairs leading up on the other. Barely room for two people at all and she sucked in a shaky breath.

"Your teenage rebellion is serving us well right now." Her voice trembled just slightly and he frowned at her in the darkness. She could only just barely make his face out under the small bands of light streaming through the wood planks above them.

"You all right?"

She nodded. "I'm fine."

"Don't look fine."

She sighed. "I don't like small spaces, ok. Never have. And this one is pretty damn small."

"You ain't gonna throw up are you?"

She laughed a little at that, but was mindful of keeping it a soft sound and not a full on nervous bout. "No. That's not usually a symptom of claustrophobia. I'll be ok."

"Just remember we're safer down here than we are up there."

Carol nodded to him even though she was pretty sure he couldn't see her clearly enough, but she was out of words at the moment and could only seem to focus on the four dirt walls closing in on them at a rapid pace. Tried to slow her breathing enough that she wouldn't end up hyperventilating.

It was fine. She was fine.

Of all the things she'd seen and done tonight this was by far the least offensive on the entire list. She should be happy to be in this tiny, cramped, itty bitty space with him and not up there like a sitting duck for whoever came back.

It was fine.

When she felt his hand on her arm she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Easy, you're gonna shake yourself into a seizure. Come're."

He pulled her against his side, which wasn't hard at all considering they were barely a few inches apart already and she went willingly. Fitting herself against his ribs as he ran his hand up and down her arm in slow repetitions.

"Ain't gonna be in here long. They can't stay forever. We're safe here."

She shivered. The last time she'd been somewhere like this Ed had locked her in the crawl space under their first house. Southern homes didn't often have basements, something about the ground not being dry enough or deep enough or some such thing, she wasn't sure, but they did have crawl spaces. This particular one was big enough to hold a water heater and nothing else. Only accessible from the outside it was cold and dank and she spent an entire night in there curled up alone, panicking at every sound and every brush of a bug over her skin.

They'd had a repair man out earlier that day to fix the water heater and Ed was convinced she was flirting with him when she took his card and smiled. She hadn't even said anything, but the repair man smiled back and tipped his baseball cap to her like it was a top hat and that was all it took. When night fell he drug her out there, tossed her in the small opening of the crawl space and locked the door behind her. Told her to use her time to think about what she'd done and that she would be wise not to try and fuck anyone else that came into their house.

The memory of that night frayed at her nerves, encircling her lungs and squeezing and she tightened her fingers around Daryl's shirt, twisting the fabric between them and pressing the side of her face into his chest. Tried to remember that she wasn't back there, in that crawl space. She was with Daryl and she was safe and he wasn't going to leave her down here by herself.

His other arm snaked around her and his hold became more firm. "You're all right. Try and relax."

"I promise I'm not usually such a mess."

"When someone's got a fear of somethin' it's usually for a reason."

When she didn't move to answer further he spoke into her hair, his tone lower with a slight hint of self deprecation. "I'm afraid of birds. Crows to be exact."

She snorted. Didn't even mean to do it but it escaped her before she could wrangle it back in and he huffed at her.

"Hey now, don't make fun. Them sons of bitches are serious."

She smirked into his chest. "Sorry, sorry, go on. Why are you afraid of crows?"

"I was maybe thirteen years old and me and Merle were playing with a football in this park. Just tossin' it around and whatnot. I aimed for Merle but threw wide and hit this crows nest. All the eggs fell out, was a damn mess. Well the momma bird must saw the whole thing because she came flying outta nowhere and starts trying to peck me to death. Then a bunch of others follow her and soon I got a flock of 'em chasin' me around and Merle is laughing his ass off like the asshole he is and just watchin' it. They didn't go after him at all. Read on the internet that they're smart as fuck and they take revenge…I ain't joking about this….it's a thing. Anyway, those fuckers chased me all the way home. Still get a shiver when I see 'em now."

"That's…horrifying."

"Damn right it was. Barely survived it."

She snorted again and he tightened his hold on her reflexively in response. She suspected, though she had no proof, that if he wanted to he could have found a more serious, more devastating story to commiserate with but she was instantly grateful that he chose something less disturbing and more amusing because her breathing had returned to normal and the walls weren't closing in on them quite so fast anymore.

The sounds of a door opening and closing and footsteps scuffing the floor above their heads silenced any further conversation and they sat still as stone, listening to the exchange that was currently taking place.

"We should just go, we got enough by now."

"You don't know that."

"We don't even know where these last two went. They could be miles away. The longer we fuck around in these goddamn woods the easier it's gonna be to get caught. They could've gotten to the main road…could be callin' someone."

"You listen to me, we ain't leaving them alive. They got two of us and knocked out Lucas and they've seen his face. They're here, they're fucking close and if we let 'em live it won't take but a minute for the cops to put the pieces together. You wanna spend the rest of your shit life in jail, asshole?"

"No.."

"Then you go get the fucking truck and bring it around. We need to up our game."

The conversation died down and one pair of footsteps exited the station while the other one paced the space above them. This could be the chance they've been waiting for and Daryl knew it too because he nodded down at her in silent reply.

They needed to take that truck. How she wasn't sure yet, but it didn't sound like anyone up there was leaving any time soon and if there was a working vehicle nearby they had to take the risk and go for it. It didn't take long for the sound of tires on gravel to get stronger and stronger and then the remaining person was walking outside too.

"We need that damn truck. Stay here, sounds like there's only two of 'em outside. I may be able to take 'em by surprise."

"What? I'm not staying here."

"It ain't safe, don't want you to…"

Anything he would have said after that was cut off by an ominous sound. Engines revved, not one but two of them, and they sounded distinctly smaller than a truck. Her eyes widened when she realized what they were hearing.

No one up there was taking the truck after all. It would likely be waiting for them in the driveway and they could stroll right up and steal it at their leisure. Provided they weren't spotted by the men on ATVs.


	8. Chapter 8

**Wrapping it up! Thanks for reading :)**

* * *

They had been stuck in the small storage space below the station for two hours now. Biding their time. The two men had long since left on the atvs they'd driven off the truck but every ten minutes or so they'd hear the engines rev as someone whizzed passed the station.

Carol really had to pee.

It was a ridiculous thing considering their situation, but it was at the forefront of her mind non the less. She wondered if he had to pee too. Suddenly flashed back on every horror movie she had ever watched, which were few and far between considering her own life used to hold enough horrific moments all on it's own, and wondered how often those people had to pee.

No one ever commented on it in movies. They would go hours, days even without stopping to answer nature's call. Too bad it didn't work that way outside of a movie set because she could really do for a bathroom or even just a nice fluffy pine tree to squat behind.

She shifted around a little from her spot next to him, still firmly against his side and he groaned.

"You gotta pee don't ya."

"No."

"Then you're doing better than me because I gotta take a leak somethin' awful."

She hefted out a breath and crossed her legs at the ankles. "Thank god because so do I."

He shook his head. "Guess we could have worse problems huh?"

"Yeah. We could just stay here until morning? They have to leave eventually, right?"

She felt the rumble in his chest at his reply before she heard it. "We could."

"Then why don't we? Just hold up here and wait them out?"

He didn't answer for a long moment and she was about to nudge him in the ribs when he finally replied. "Just don't feel good about it. Can't explain why, just…feel like it's a bad idea. We're so vulnerable right now, if they find us we'd be screwed."

She leaned back a few inches to search his face." I thought you said we were safe in here?"

"We are. If they don't find us."

"So you wanna make for the truck?"

Carol felt it him nod and her nerves kicked back into high gear. She tried to think up all the ways they might be discovered in their cozy hiding spot and ran through the likelihood of them becoming reality.

Someone could step on a board the wrong way and get suspicious. Could spot the notches cut out of the handle on the trap door. Could simply deduce that if they weren't in the woods and didn't have enough time to make it to civilization that they had to be in the station because where else would they be. Could burn down the entire place with them in it and then they'd been so far fucked she didn't even want to ponder how they'd escape.

All of these things were possible, but even as much as she trusted Daryl's judgment she couldn't shake the feeling of them being safer in this hole than they would be running for the truck.

Either option would be a leap of faith though. Stay and risk being discovered. Go and risk getting caught. There were no truly safe choices anymore.

"If you think we need to go then we'll go."

He hummed his agreement next to her and she felt him shift his weight away from her and toward the trap door. "We wait until they drive past again then run right after. You stay close, right behind me. Keep your bow up and don't stop lookin' around you. I'll need you to watch for 'em if I gotta hotwire the truck."

She nodded. "We'll make it."

He answered her just as the sound of an atv whizzed by them. "We will. Let's go."

The door flew open above them with a push of his hand and then they were in the bright interior of the station again, running to the front door and throwing it open, pausing only a moment before rushing to the truck. Daryl in the diver's seat and her in the passer side, bow up and ready to shoot anyone that moved in their general direction.

The keys weren't inside. Of course not. That would have been far too simple and she cursed their luck. Was only too glad that Daryl had the wires sparking against each other in under thirty seconds and then they were reversing down the gravel drive, changing direction and speeding back out onto the road.

"Oh my god, we made it."

The smile that lit up her face was contagious and he grinned back at her. "Don't count your chickens yet. We still gotta make it to civilization and call the cops."

Carol nodded but her smile didn't falter and he just shook his head at her as they sped toward their goal. She watched the lines blurring as they passed by, bleeding into one another at a rapid pace and was reminded of the first day she came here. How it felt like a lifetime ago when she sat in the car with Ed as they drove up the mountain and through these same winding roads, watching the yellows lines blend and merge, nothing but thoughts of hiking to get away from her husband on her mind.

How things could change so quickly in one weekend.

She only barely noticed the atv that appeared at their side and the other one that sped in front of them, effectively cutting them off and forcing Daryl to swerve, flipping the truck end over end until it skidded across the asphalt of the main road before coming to silent stop upside down.

Carol hung from her seatbelt. Dangling above the car ceiling with all the blood rushing to her head. Looked over to see Daryl in the same position trying to unlock his own seatbelt and failing.

She couldn't get hers open either, the button refused to click and she struggled with it. "You ok?"

He grunted in response and she pressed further. "Talk to me, dammit. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I think so. Stuck though."

"Me too. Can't get this damn belt open they're coming."

Her words ran into each other as she spotted an atv coming to a stop just ahead of them. Saw two sets of feet approaching the truck and listened to the conversation as she continued to struggle with her belt.

"You got it recording?"

"Yeah, man. Just get it done ok. I'm over this shit. More fucking trouble than it's worth. This isn't what I signed up for."

"Pretty damn sure its exactly what you signed up for. Shut your mouth and keep it rolling. You wanna be one of us, right? This is how."

She heard them approach the driver's side before she saw it. Watched Daryl frantically try to escape his seatbelt, twisting and clawing at it, jerking the nylon strap with all his strength and being denied any give.

He turned to her, his eye's wide. "Weapons. Where are they?"

She couldn't see his bow, had to assume it was thrown from the vehicle when they flipped but as she scanned the area around them from her upside down position she saw her own. Roughly within arms reach out the passenger side window and she stretched for it. Her hand grasped at the ground, nails scratching the asphalt under her fingertips as she willed herself closer.

"You two have been a goddamn pain in the ass. You know that? Why couldn't you just die like the others?"

Her blood ran cold at the voice. Saw someone kneel into view and flash a knife toward Daryl's throat, hovering there a moment to turn back to his friend. "Make sure you get this money shot. Don't get a second chance."

Daryl had gone still, his struggling halted in favor of not pressing against the tip of the blade that was inches from his skin. She hadn't stopped reaching for the bow but her arms weren't long enough and it remained just slightly out of range. Hot tears prickled her skin, leaving trails in their wake when she realized what was about to happen.

"Goddamn memory is full, hold on a minute."

"Are you kidding me?"

The blade fell from Daryl's pulse point, the person holding it shifting enough to talk to his companion when she felt her belt loosen. It was slight but it was there and suddenly she had an extra few inches to work with and her fingers wrapped around the handle of the fallen bow, whipped it around and shot the already loaded arrow past Daryl and into their attacker.

He didn't make a sound. Just fell like a rock and she was horrified to remembered that she wouldn't be able to reload it now. Not from this position, maybe not at all.

Her head hurt. It was an abrupt feeling that hit her like a brick and she brought a hand up to her own skull and pulled it away wet with blood, felt a roll of nausea wash over her followed by a wave of dizziness and the last thing she heard before she passed out entirely were the faint sounds of sirens and Daryl's voice telling her they were going to be ok, that help was coming.

When she woke up she was flat on her back with a stranger hovering over her, brandishing a stethoscope and telling her to lay still. She tried to move but straps across her chest held her in place.

"Where am I? Where's Daryl?"

The person above her tried to smile back but it came across as a grimace and Carol winced. "You're in an ambulance and he's right over there."

The lurching and bumping confirmed that she was in fact in a vehicle and when she turned her head the sight of Daryl strapped to his own gurney next to hers was the best thing she had seen in a very long time.

He seemed dazed but otherwise ok as he looked at back at her, the corner of his mouth turning up in a half smile and his hand reaching out across the small gap between them. "Hey."

She didn't hesitate to reach back, grasping his hand in her own and squeezing it tight. "Hey."

* * *

 **Southern Times**

 **College Students During Rush Week Commit Vicious Crimes**

Five students from Delta Cappa Si were arrested for the alleged murders of three people and attempted murder of two more in a brutal example of hazing gone wrong.

Authorities claim that new information is surfacing regarding similar crimes that were commented 39 years ago by the same fraternity. What used to be nothing but an urban legend is now the subject of a full fledged investigation, with several parents of the students involved having been brought in for questioning.

It is suspected that the current generation of Delta Cappa Si was seeking to replicate the murders their own parents committed as part of the same fraternity.

Ed Peletier and Anna and Stephan Robertson were killed in the attacks. Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier survived the ordeal and are listed as being in stable condition at this time.

* * *

 **One Year Later**

Carol kept a brisk pace as she followed the trail through the woods, inhaling the crisp autumn air as the multicolored leaves drifted down from the trees. Hefted the strap of her bow higher on her shoulder and slowed a bit as she rounded the curve. Another person sat a few feet around the bend and she halted, her voice reaching out to him from her spot.

"You stalking me?"

He looked up from the rock he was perched on, an indifferent expression on his face. "No. Just waitin' on someone."

"Oh, I see. Me too. My husband is supposed to take me shooting. He should be here any minute…"

"Sounds like an idiot to keep a woman like you waiting. I got a quiver full of arrows we can sink into a tree if you want…"

She smiled at him, closing the distance to stop only a few inches away. "That's quite the tempting offer."

Daryl smirked back at her, leaning in just close enough to breathe his next words into her mouth. "So? Wanna run away with me?"

She grasped the collar of his shirt and tugged his lips down to her own, catching them in a soft kiss that had him leaning into her and wrapping his arms around her waist in response. Her fingers grazed the back of his neck, nails ghosting across the skin there before finally trailing down and away as she reluctantly pulled back. "Pretty sure I already have."

Her expression turned from content to wicked in a split second and soon she was slowly backing away from him, biting her bottom lip as he arched an eyebrow at her. "Race you to the falls."

"What do I get if I win?"

The smile she gave him crinkled her eyes. "Catch me and find out."

And with that she bolted, kicking up a cloud of fallen leaves in her wake and hearing him hot on her heels in no time at all.

This time she didn't mind being chased.


End file.
